This disclosure relates generally to semiconductor devices, and more specifically to semiconductor memory devices. In particular, the disclosure relates to volatile memory, such as dynamic random access memory (DRAM). Information may be stored on individual memory cells of the memory as a physical signal (e.g., a charge on a capacitive element). The memory may be a volatile memory, and the physical signal may decay over time (which may degrade or destroy the information stored in the memory cells). It may be necessary to periodically refresh the information in the memory cells by, for example, rewriting the information to restore the physical signal to an initial value.
As memory components have decreased in size, the density of memory cells has greatly increased, resulting in the need for more refresh operations to complete refreshing the memory cells of a memory array. Various approaches to refreshing the memory cells in an efficient and flexible manner have been developed, and continue to be developed due to the need for improved memory performance.